questionnaires. The Internet can be used to create two-way feedback which does not usually occur inothermediaFinancialservicesproviderEgg(www.egg.com)collectsinformationabouttheir online service levels through a questionnaire that is continuously available in the customer service part of their site. What is significant is that the company responds via the website to the main concerns from customer; if the length of time it takes to reply to customer service e-mails is seen as a problem it will explain what the organization is trying to do to resolve this problem 2. Individualization thar x another important feature of the interactive marketing communications referred to above is they can be tailored to the individual unlike traditional media where the same message tends to be broadcast to everyone. The process of tailoring is also referred to as personalization and is an important aspect of achieving customer relationship management online. Personalization is often achieved through extranets which are set up with key accounts to manage the buying and after-salesprocessesDell(www.dell.com/premierpages)hassetuppreMierPages'forkey accounts such as the Abbey National where special offers and bespoke customer support are delivered. Another example of personalization is that achieved by business-to-business e-tailor RS Components(www.rswww.com).Everycustomerwhoaccessestheirsystemisprofiledaccording to their area of product interest and information describing their role in the buying unit When they next visit the site information will be displayed relevant to their product interest, for example office products and promotions if this is what was selected. This is an example of what is known as mass customization where generic customer information is supplied for particular segments i.e the information is not unique to individuals, but to those with a common interest. The online booksellerssuchasAmazon(www.amazon.co.uk)usethisapproachtocommunicatenewbooks to groups of customers. Gardeners for instance, who have previously purchased a gardening book, will receive a standard e-mail advertising the latest gardening tome. This is again mass 3. Integratio The Internet provides further scope for integrated marketing communications. When assessing the success of a web site, the role of the Internet in communicating with customers and other partners can best be considered from two perspectives. First organization to customer direction, how does the Internet complement other channels in communication of proposition for the company's products and services to new and existing customers with a view to generating new leads and retaining existing customers? Second customer to organization, how can the Internet complement other channels to deliver customer service to these customers? Many companies are now considering how they integrate e-mail response and web-Site call-back into their existing call-centre or customer service operation. This may require a substantial investment in training and new software 4. Industry restructuring Disintermediation and reintermediation are key concepts of industry restructuring that should be considered by any company developing an e-marketing strategy. For the marketer defining their companies communications strategy it becomes very important to consider a companies representation on these intermediary sites by answering questions such as which intermediaries should we be represented on? 'and how do our offerings e to those of competitors in terms of features, benefits and price? Independence of location Electronic media also introduce the possibility to increase the reach of company communications to the global market. This gives opportunities to sell into international markets thatmaynothavebeenpreviouslypossibleScottBader(www.scottbader.com business-to-business supplier of polymers and chemicals for the paints and coatings industry, can now target countries beyond the 40 or so it has traditionally sold to via a network of local agents and franchises. The Internet makes it possible to sell to a country without a local sales or customer service force(although this may still be necessary for some products). In such situations and with the restructuring in conjunction with disintermediation and reintermediation, strategists also needquestionnaires. The Internet can be used to create two-way feedback which does not usually occur in other media. Financial services provider Egg (www.egg.com) collects information about their online service levels through a questionnaire that is continuously available in the customer service part of their site. What is significant is that the company responds via the website to the main concerns from customer; if the length of time it takes to reply to customer service e-mails is seen as a problem it will explain what the organization is trying to do to resolve this problem. 2. Individualization Another important feature of the interactive marketing communications referred to above is that they can be tailored to the individual unlike traditional media where the same message tends to be broadcast to everyone. The process of tailoring is also referred to as personalization and is an important aspect of achieving customer relationship management online. Personalization is often achieved through extranets which are set up with key accounts to manage the buying and after-sales processes. Dell (www.dell.com/premierpages) has set up ‘Premier Pages’ for key accounts such as the Abbey National where special offers and bespoke customer support are delivered. Another example of personalization is that achieved by business-to-business e-tailor RS Components (www.rswww.com). Every customer who accesses their system is profiled according to their area of product interest and information describing their role in the buying unit. When they next visit the site information will be displayed relevant to their product interest, for example office products and promotions if this is what was selected. This is an example of what is known as mass customization where generic customer information is supplied for particular segments i.e. the information is not unique to individuals, but to those with a common interest. The online booksellers such as Amazon (www.amazon.co.uk) use this approach to communicate new books to groups of customers. Gardeners for instance, who have previously purchased a gardening book, will receive a standard e-mail advertising the latest gardening tome. This is again mass customization. 3. Integration The Internet provides further scope for integrated marketing communications. When assessing the success of a web site, the role of the Internet in communicating with customers and other partners can best be considered from two perspectives. First organization to customer direction, how does the Internet complement other channels in communication of proposition for the company’ s products and services to new and existing customers with a view to generating new leads and retaining existing customers? Second customer to organization, how can the Internet complement other channels to deliver customer service to these customers? Many companies are now considering how they integrate e-mail response and web-site call-back into their existing call-centre or customer service operation. This may require a substantial investment in training and new software. 4. Industry restructuring Disintermediation and reintermediation are key concepts of industry restructuring that should be considered by any company developing an e-marketing strategy. For the marketer defining their companies communications strategy it becomes very important to consider a companies representation on these intermediary sites by answering questions such as ‘which intermediaries should we be represented on?’ and ‘how do our offerings compare to those of competitors in terms of features, benefits and price?’ 5. Independence of location Electronic media also introduce the possibility to increase the reach of company communications to the global market. This gives opportunities to sell into international markets that may not have been previously possible. Scott Bader (www.scottbader.com), a business-to-business supplier of polymers and chemicals for the paints and coatings industry, can now target countries beyond the 40 or so it has traditionally sold to via a network of local agents and franchises. The Internet makes it possible to sell to a country without a local sales or customer service force (although this may still be necessary for some products). In such situations and with the restructuring in conjunction with disintermediation and reintermediation, strategists also need